EVERY Wednesday an emergency alarm should sound in Eastham Village as part of safety procedures at the nearby terminal.

Residents now ask why they didn't hear an alarm after a real gas leak at 11am, on Wednesday, at GATX Terminals chemical storage site, Bankfields Drive, Eastham, which left 23 people requiring hospital treatment.

Local MP Ben Chapman with Eastham councillors have been hearing first hand from villagers about their concerns on living on the doorstep of a chemical plant.

Mr Chapman and Coun Phil Gilchrist are now wanting a review of safety measures as part of the inquiry into what happened.

Twenty three people needed hospital treatment, including 14 paramedics after it is said they were told it was safe to remove casualties.

Workers and a passer-by were also taken to Arrowe Park Hospital, Birkenhead. The accident and emergency department had to be closed for several hours because of the risk of contamination.

All the emergency services quickly responded to the emergency, involving skin irritant gas causing breathing difficulties. Police closed the road but, even by late afternoon, many villagers knew nothing about the alert.

They say it was about 2pm before they started to be informed. Children had been playing out. "It is very worrying living so close to dangerous chemicals," they say.

Wirral Council and the emergency services are now holding a full inquiry into the GATX spillage.

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